Nigeria became the third country in Africa to confirm a case of the novel coronavirus, Nigerian health officials on Friday said. They said an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria, on February 25, 2020, was found to be infected.

According to a statement released on Friday by Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria's federal health minister, the patient is clinically stable with no serious symptoms and is under treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

"We have already started working to identify everyone the patient has contacted since he entered Nigeria," Ehanire said. "I wish to assure all Nigerians that we have been beefing up our preparedness capabilities since the first confirmation of cases in China and we will use all the resources made available by the government to respond to this case."

While reminding Nigerians to take care of their health and maintain hand and respiratory hygiene to protect themselves, the minister cautioned against spreading misinformation that causes fear and panic especially through social media.

Earlier this week, Algeria became the second country in Africa after Egypt to confirm a case on the continent after an Italian passenger who entered the country on February 17 tested positive for the virus.

The past week has seen a sharp increase in the number of infections outside China as the number of new infections within China started registering a steady decline.